The present invention relates to a unitary inlet and outlet valve for controlling the flow of fluids to and from a pumping chamber having alternate suction and pressure strokes or cycles, and more particularly to an improved unitary inlet and outlet valve means which is compact, reliable, and easily assembled and serviced.
A wide variety of valve structures including unitary inlet and outlet valves have been in use over the years. Frequently, because of the design, these valves have been relatively large in size, either in diameter or length, and have normally required areas or zones which function on an exclusive basis for either the inlet function or the outlet function. The structure of the present invention provides zones of dual-function, thereby reducing the overall size requirement, and furthermore employs poppet opening motion which is in inwardly-opposed directions, thereby reducing the overall length requirement for the structure. For enhancing assembly and serviceability, snap-rings are employed as base members for the compression springs employed in both inlet and outlet poppets.